Historian, educator and President, Best Teachers Institute, Ken Bain spent much of his academic career at Vanderbilt, Northwestern, and NYU, before becoming Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs, University of the District of Columbia, a post he left in July 2013.

He was the founding director of four major teaching and learning centers: the Center for Teaching Excellence at New York University, the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence at Northwestern University, the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University, and the Research Academy for University Learning at Montclair University. In the 1970's and early 80's he was Professor of History at the University of Texas--Pan American.

His now classic book What the Best College Teachers Do. (Harvard University Press, 2004) won the 2004 Virginia and Warren Stone Prize for an outstanding book on education and society, and has been one of the top selling books on higher education. It has been translated into twelve languages and was the subject of an award-winning television documentary series in 2007.

The sequel, What the Best College Students Do, also from Harvard University Press, won the Virginia and Warren Stone Prize in 2012, and has become an international best seller. He has won several major teaching awards and lectures internationally. At the WFC ACC Miami Conference he presents a 90 minute interactive program.